GERD label makes parents more likely to want medicine

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Telling the parents of babies who spit up and cry frequently that their child has gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, makes them more likely to want medicine - even if they're also told it isn't likely to help much, a new study suggests. Most babies who spit up don't have an acid reflux problem, researchers said, just a not-quite-developed upper stomach valve. Still, an increasing number of those kids are being labeled as having GERD - even though a definitive diagnosis normally requires an invasive test. ... Click here to read the rest